It’s a Wrap: 2017 Toronto Film Festival produces some real winners

Tuesday

Sep 19, 2017 at 10:07 AMSep 19, 2017 at 10:07 AM

Ed Symkus More Content Now

The 2017 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unspooled its last film for the year, and held its final press conference, while different juries have decided on what they considered best films and the folks manning the ballot boxes have tallied the final counts as far as what audiences enjoyed the most.

OFFICAL PRIZES:Two Prizes of the International Federation of Film Critics. One went to writer-director Sadaf Foroughi for the Iranian drama “Ava.” Another went to writer-director Manuel Martin Cuenza for the Spanish comedy “The Motive.”

The Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema honored Writer-director Huang Hsin-Yao for the Taiwanese drama “The Great Buddha+.”

The Toronto Platform Prize was given to the Australian Western “Sweet Country.”

Those were the jury awards. And then the public spoke, by voting for their favorite films via the numerous ballot boxes that were held out to them at the end of every screening, resulting in the top three spots for the Grolsch People’s Choice Awards.

PERSONAL FAVORITES:A journalist attending TIFF is a busy person. You see a lot of movies (after waiting in a lot of lines), you do a lot of interviews, you write a number of pieces, you try to pace yourself, eat well, and get a bit of sleep. Though I missed out on a few films I really wanted to see (among them “The Shape of Water,” “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” and “Mom and Dad”), I did catch a fair share. When and if they open (some, like the terrific “Oh, Lucy” might have trouble finding a distributor), I will write full reviews. For now, I’ll limit myself to a few words about my five favorites, all of which will have releases either later this year or early next year. They’re in alphabetical order.

“Downsizing” — Matt Damon leads a cast including Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig, and Udo Kier in a science-fictionish comedy about a way we can save our environment: By shrinking ourselves down to about five inches, thereby taking up less space, using less power and food and, most important, producing less human waste. A provocative and offbeat movie from director Alexander Payne (“Sideways,” “The Descendants”).

“I, Tonya” — OK, let me get this thought out of the way: This was my fave of the fest. Remember champion figure skater Tonya Harding, she of the scandal involving the kneecaps of her chief competitor Nancy Kerrigan? This is the story of what went down during those controversial days in sports history. But this is no documentary or straightforward telling of it. This is done — with Margot Robbie in the lead and the future Supporting Actress nominee Allison Janney as her hilariously vulgar mom — in the most irreverent of manners.

“The Killing of a Sacred Deer” — Then there was “The Lobster” a couple of years ago, that extremely odd movie by Yorgos Lanthimos about people being turned into animals (of their own choice) if they can’t find love. Well, if you thought THAT was strange, this one, again starring Colin Farrell, and focusing on a surgeon and his family who become unwitting victims of a sinister revenge plan, leaves “The Lobster’s” weirdness factor in the dust. This one’s entertainingly uncomfortable.

“Roman J. Israel. Esq.” — Only Denzel Washington knows how to play a Denzel Washington character. This time out, he’s got the title role, giving us a shabbily dressed smalltime lawyer with a really bad hairdo and eyeglasses that have been out of style for decades, who specializes in social justice cases. Unfortunately, his old school ways get him caught up in a potentially dangerous legal situation that’s way over his head. Is it a great movie? I wouldn’t go that far. Is it a great performance by Denzel? Oh, yeah.

“Suburbicon” — There were no credits at the beginning, I hadn’t seen the trailer, and all I knew was that Matt Damon starred and George Clooney directed. So, as this initially light and bubbly look at a “typical” 1950s suburban town started to get less light and bubbly, then turned kind of dark, then got downright nasty in its dual stories of racial tension and a possible murder mystery, I was wondering what the heck was going on. Revelation came with the end credits: It was written (close to 30 years ago) by Joel and Ethan Coen. Some people will find this one mean-spirited and unnerving. I dug it.

— Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now. He can be reached at esymkus@rcn.com.

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